The International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) Division 2 East teams headed to Carolina Dragway last weekend for the Summit Team Finals. Twelve teams competed for the championship title and it was the host track, Carolina Dragway, that claimed the top spot.

The event schedule weekend was altered a bit due to residual weather from Hurricane Matthew and the main time trials and eliminations all took place on Sunday. Leading up to the main event, racers participated in Gambler’s races and “best of” awards. The participating tracks included: Carolina Dragway, Darlington Dragway, Ware Shoals Dragway, South Georgia Motorsports Park, Orangeburg Dragstrip, Green Cover Dragway, Immokalee Regional Raceway, Bradenton Motorsports Park, Palm Beach International Raceway, Savannah River Dragway, Orlando Speed World Dragway and Lakeland Dragstrip.

Main Event:

Top

Mark Cooper from Carolina Dragway and Stephen Peeler from Ware Shoals Dragway advanced to the Top final round. Both racers fouled at the line when they posted a -0.004 reaction time and a -0.002 reaction time. Cooper in his 1999 Dragster was declared the winner.

Modified

The final round in the Modified class came down to Tim Butler from Bradenton Motorsports Park and Ronny Kent from South Georgia Motorsports Park. Butler took the win when he ran a 6.201 on a 6.11 dial-in with a .006 reaction time against Kent’s 5.959 on a 5.95 dial-on, .110 reaction time.

Junior Dragster

Brad Johnson from Orangeburg Dragstrip claimed the Ironman in Junior Dragster at the Summit Team Finals. Johnson made a 7.941-second pass on a 7.93 dial-in with a .079 reaction time against runner-up Conner Smith from South Georgia Motorsports Park’s time of 8.937 on an 8.94 dial-in, .040 reaction time.